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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24934045">Out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightiestPen/pseuds/SPNFinalSeason'>SPNFinalSeason (TheMightiestPen)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Positions [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bi!sam, Coming Out, Gen, Season 15, basically what i see as the most realistic version of an spn coming out story, no current relationships formed though, so its mostly canon pairings, some discussions of past non-canon relationships, the cage is referenced</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:47:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,147</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24934045</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightiestPen/pseuds/SPNFinalSeason</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A god-possessed witch reveals a secret that Sam’s been keeping for a long time. The brothers handle it like mature, well-adjusted adults, for once.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(past), Dean Winchester &amp; Sam Winchester, Real Tyson Brady/Sam Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Positions [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>167</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You can’t stop me,” She says.</p><p>The witch is sitting cross-legged on a large symbol spray-painted on the bunker’s floor, eyes glowing an intermittent red and orange. Objects fly all over the place, smashing windows, knocking things off shelves. “I’ve already started the spell. There’s no going back now.”</p><p>“Shit!” Dean leaps behind a chair, ducking a lamp that whizzes right by his left ear. “Sam?”</p><p>“I’m on it!” He hears on his left. He turns to see Sam, awkwardly curled up beneath a cabinet, rifling through a large book. “I’ve got to find the right counter-spell!”</p><p>Dean feels someone shuffle over to him, and he looks to see Jack sidle near his hiding spot. “Didn’t she just say that you can’t stop her now?” He asks, worry growing on his face.</p><p>A crash sounds to Dean’s right, where Cas has flipped the large table in order to provide more cover. “Maybe for any regular witch,” Cas says, sounding strangely unaffected by someone who has just flipped a large table. “But Sam has Rowena’s books. She most likely has something that will help with this.”</p><p>Dean opens his mouth, ready to make a joke about Sam’s new witchy endeavors, before he hears the witch’s voice booms across the room. “I can hear your thoughts. I’ll soon be able to hear your secrets, and the secrets of the universe. You cannot stop me.”</p><p>“Oh shit,” Dean says, to the sound of Sam’s increasingly desperate page flipping. “Hurry up, Sam!”</p><p>“I’m trying!” Sam says, “It’s not like there’s a ‘what to do to stop a witch hopped up on Norse God energy’ section!”</p><p>“Jack,” the witch declares, causing the kid to flinch. “Oh, naughty boy. You killed their mother, didn’t you?”</p><p>Jack’s face pales instantly, and Dean feels the blood thunder through his ears. “I…I didn’t mean…” Jack stammers, and Dean sees him lean away, closer to the edge of the chair, away from Dean. “I…”</p><p>“Yes, you were soulless. Excuses.” Dean fumbles with his gun as the witch continues speaking, his good humor gone completely. “And Castiel. Do the Winchesters know the extent to which you personally meddled in their lives to prepare them for the Apocalypse? No, don’t answer. I know they don’t.”</p><p>Cas doesn’t reply, but Dean sees his mouth tighten.</p><p>“Don’t listen to her!” He hears Sam say behind him. “She’s trying to throw us off her game. Don’t listen!”</p><p>“Dean,” She says, and he feels himself tense so hard he swears that he pulls something. “Oh my. How much of your actions under the mark of Cain was actually you? More than you let on, I’d wager.”</p><p>“Don’t listen, Dean,” Cas says, as Dean notices that Sam’s frenetic scrambling has abated behind him. He just about jumps when Sam’s voice booms out, speaking in an ancient language that Dean can’t quite place.</p><p>The witch screams, smoke starting to rise from her face. Dean recognizes the danger, and reaches out to grab Jack and shove him to the floor. “Get down!”</p><p>Cas hits the deck too as the witch’s screams increase in intensity. “Sam Winchester!” She screeches, voice distorting into something deep and demonic. “There’s a lot in there. What to say? What to tell?”</p><p>Dean peeks over the edge of the chair, keeping a hand on Jack’s back. The witch’s head is tipped back, skin boiling in thick bubbles. It’s clear she’s no longer alive, no longer in control of her words. This is the god speaking.</p><p>“How about this one?” The voice asks, mocking, as Sam’s recitation remains loud and steady. “Degeneracy, Sam Winchester, in every form. Does your family know about your sexual history with men?”</p><p>Sam’s voice doesn’t falter, but the tone changes, softens, gains an instability in timbre that wasn’t there before. There’s a waver to it, now.</p><p>Before Dean can fully process what she’s said, Sam’s voice ends on a harsh vowel and the witch screams, unearthly echoes filling the room. The scream rises in intensity before it culminates in a large flash of white light, and silence falls over the room.</p><p>Jack makes the first move. He wriggles out from under Dean’s hand and scrambles out to peak over their hiding spot. “She’s gone,” He informs them, standing up and sidestepping the smashed lamp.</p><p>Dean stands up, automatically joining him, and sees that the room is trashed. In the spot the witch once occupied is a large pile of soot and nothing else. Even the symbol on the floor is now completely gone.</p><p>“This is going to take some time to clean up,” Cas says, moving out to join him. “We should start now.”</p><p>Dean feels the familiar sensation of Sam stepping up behind him and waits for him to walk into his line of vision.</p><p>It doesn’t happen.</p><p>“Okay,” He hears, quiet and choked up. “I’m gonna…I’m gonna go get cleaned up a little. Then I’ll help.”</p><p>Dean blinks and whirls around to see Sam disappearing into the corridors of the bunker leading towards their rooms. He blows out a breath, mind whirling. <em>Shit</em>.</p><p>It’s not like he’d never thought about having this conversation. He just hadn’t thought about it in a very, very long time.</p><p>“I’m gonna go after him,” Dean announces to the others. “I’ll talk him back out. Nobody comment on what she said, okay? I’ll deal with it.”</p><p>Cas nods somberly. “Go,” He says, patting him on the shoulder in support. “We’ll be right here.”</p><p>Dean turns and sets off down the corridors, and hears Jack say, tone puzzled, “Why? What’s the problem?”</p>
<hr/><p>Dean strides down the corridor, coming to a stop right outside Sam’s room. Dean knows Sam, knows him better than anyone (and, as it turns out, didn’t know all the important things) and he knows that Sam tends to find a safe place and hunker down when he feels worried or uncomfortable. And God knows he’ll be feeling both right now in spades.</p><p>Dean’s feeling it too. He’s not a heart-to-heart, talk-through-things kind of guy. But this is important and he has to get it right. He has to get it right, and he has to do it quickly.</p><p>He takes a deep breath and taps on the door, three short, sharp knocks. “Hey, Sam,” He says, shifting his feet. “You in there?”</p><p>He waits a beat, and then:</p><p>“Yeah,” Sam’s voice is muffled but he can tell that he’s distressed. “I’m here.”</p><p>“Cool,” Dean says, “Can I come in?”</p><p>There’s another beat, longer than the first. It’s on Dean to start this, but he’s not going to be able to do anything if Sam doesn’t take this step.</p><p>Finally, Sam’s voice sounds back through the door. “Yeah,” He says. “Go ahead.”</p><p>Dean takes another breath, pulls himself together, and pushes open the door. He sees Sam sitting on his bed, cross-legged. His usually-immaculate room is marred by Sam’s shoes, which are tossed haphazardly near the bed. If Sam’s watery eyes don’t point to how he’s feeling right now, then the uncharacteristic messiness sure does.</p><p>“Hey,” Dean says, stepping over into the room. He keeps his voice jovial, unconcerned.</p><p>“Hey,” Sam responds, cracking a smile. It looks forced. “What’s up?”</p><p>Dean weighs his options. With Sam, it’s best to just go right to the heart of the matter. “Can we talk about what happened back there?” He asks, his heart starting to hammer. It’s nerve-wracking, asking this. “About what witch bitch said about you?”</p><p>Sam pauses again, drops his gaze down to his hands. “I guess we should,” He says, deliberately avoiding eye contact. “I…I should explain.”</p><p>“That’s up to you,” Dean says, trying to inject <em>it’s all okay</em> and <em>I’m not upset</em> into his tone. “I just want to know if you want to talk about it, is all.”</p><p>“We should,” Sam repeats, and gives a small, self-deprecating chuckle. “It’s out, so, might as well.”</p><p>Dean nods, but Sam isn’t looking at him, so he says “Okay. So, um, is there…is there anything you want to tell me?”</p><p>Sam’s jaw tics, like he’s about to speak, but he doesn’t say anything. Moments go by, and Sam remains silent.</p><p>“You don’t have to say anything specific,” Dean cuts in, terrified that he’s doing this all wrong. He leans against the door frame. “Because I <em>know </em>now<em>, </em>and you know I know, but I figured…I don’t know. I figured saying it out loud would help? But if you feel that you don’t want to, you know, it’s up to you.”</p><p>Sam lifts his head and finally makes eye contact. “I know,” He says, giving a wavering smile.</p><p>“But,” Dean’s voice cracks, he can’t help it. “There’s nothing you could do, or you could say, that would change how I feel about you, okay? I don’t care about that stuff. You’re Sam. That’s all that matters.”</p><p>Sam lets out a watery laugh. “I know.” He says, clearly trying just as hard as Dean is to stay put together. “It’s not really a big deal. I know that. In the scheme of things and stuff. But, it’s just kinda weird, you know. After all this time.”</p><p>Dean nods. “I get it, dude.” He says, trying to feel out where this conversation is going. “And…”</p><p>“So I’m bisexual,” Sam tosses out, quick, rapid-fire. “I’ve always kinda known, I guess, but I fully figured it when I was like, 16-ish. Means I like both men and women. Maybe I generally tend to lean towards women, but, like, I don’t know if that’s a sexuality or availability thing. But, yeah. That’s what she meant.” And Sam leans back onto the bedframe like he’s just hurled something across the room, face red from exertion.</p><p>The words settle into the room. Dean nods, feeling a little dazed, a little out-of-body. <em>How could I have not known?</em> his mind whispers, and it makes its way out with a “Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>Sam chuffs. “Well,” He says. “You know. It was kinda different back then. Less accepting. And we lived in some rough places sometimes. Would’ve made it kinda difficult. Also,” He pauses here, seems to gather up courage. “I didn’t know how it would go down.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t have cared,” Dean says immediately, then rethinks the wording of his statement. “I wouldn’t have minded. Never. Not even then.”</p><p>“I know that now,” Sam assures him. “But, you know, I always felt like the black sleep anyway, and this was just another thing that made me different. And I didn’t wanna be different, any more than I already was. Any less normal than I already was. And, well. Dad.”</p><p>Dean feels blindsided because, well, shit. Dad indeed. “Dad loved you,” He points out. “I know why you were worried. I get it. And it might have taken him a bit, I don’t know, but in the end he wouldn’t have minded. I don’t think sexuality ever really bothered him much. Man was a lot of things but he wasn’t a homophobe I’m pretty sure.”</p><p>“I know,” Sam says, shrugging. “It didn’t bother him in the traditional sense. But, like, I was already different. And he had this…very specific idea of masculinity. I don’t know. I think I felt like it would’ve distanced him from me even more. But I was a kid at the time and confused and still figuring things out. So. Maybe my judgement wasn’t great. I don’t know.”</p><p><em>Cards on the table</em>, Dean thinks, and clears his throat. “I kinda…wondered, when you were a kid.” He admits. He never thought he would say this out loud. “I didn’t know for sure or anything. But I knew it might be a possibility that you were into guys. So I actually planned on having a sexuality talk with you. I read up on it and everything. But, you started asking me about girls and showing interest, and I figured that it wasn’t a precaution that was needed, so I stopped thinking about it.”</p><p>“Really?” Sam asks, wide-eyed.</p><p>“Really,” Dean says, chuckling to himself. “I should’ve spoken up sooner, I guess. But all this to say that I would’ve been, and still am, totally fine with you being into guys. You could’ve told me anytime.”</p><p>“Wow,” Sam says, shaking his head. “That’s kind of insane. I appreciate it retroactively, if that helps. But I don’t know if there’s more you could’ve done. I was still too unsure of myself back then.”</p><p>Dean nods. “I get it,” He says. “I wish you would’ve told us sooner, and I wish you would’ve been more comfortable telling at least me. But I get it.”</p><p>Sam laughs a little, but there’s not much humor in it. “I mean, could you imagine if I ever brought a guy home, back before I went to college? That would’ve been so weird. Both for you and dad.”</p><p>“Oh, did you date any guys back then?” Dean asks, trying to reform his vision of Sam’s childhood. “Or since?”</p><p>“You know that my game isn’t exactly, um, top notch,” Sam begins, looking like he’s actually starting to relax.</p><p>“You got that right,” Dean interrupts, grinning.</p><p>Sam shakes his head. “Funny. But yeah, I did. Just a couple of times, both very <em>very</em> secretly. I dated a guy at Stanford too, like right when I got there. You, um, you met him actually. Kind of. Brady?”</p><p>Dean’s heart sinks. “Oh,” He says, trying not to wince. Having a possessed friend is bad enough. But a boyfriend? That’s a whole new level of violation. Especially considering the Ruby situation. “I’m sorry, dude.”</p><p>Sam shrugs. “Yeah, well. Story of our lives, right? Anyway, he was probably the most serious relationship with a guy. I’ve had a couple casual things since then, especially when I was soulless, but not for a while now. Like, over eight years at least.”</p><p>“Why? What happened eight-“ and then it clicks, and Dean shuts off that line of questioning so fast he can swear he feels the words climb back down his throat. “Shit.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Sam says, shooting his eyes downward again. “Look, you know I think it’s super weird to discuss sex with you in any context. But, I’m guessing you’ve noticed that after I left the Cage, I’ve not been as…well. After that kind of thing. All I’ll say is there’s a reason, and it’s related, but I don’t want get into it right now. Seriously, that’s like a whole different issue for a different day.”</p><p>Dean takes a deep breath. “Got it,” He says, because, oh God, this talk is one thing but the Cage conversation? He’s not ready for that one. He’s not sure he’ll ever be ready for that one.</p><p>“So, anyway,” Sam continues, clearly determined to steer clear of that subject. “I never told you about being bi after that because, well, I figured it wasn’t really relevant anymore. We’re not gonna get our happy endings so I thought, you know, what’s the point? I’d kinda missed the boat on coming out at a good time and it wasn’t gonna mean anything, so, you know. That’s why I haven’t said anything about it up til now.”</p><p>“Dude,” Dean says, walking over and sitting on the bed next to Sam. “I said before I didn’t mind. And it’s true. But this is important, it’s a part of being Sam. Even if we don’t ever get to settle down with anyone. Of course it’s relevant. I’m glad you told me, even if it wasn’t really…under ideal circumstances.”</p><p>Sam laughs. “You got that right,” He says, sitting up, surreptitiously wiping at his face. “But, um. This is kind of a subject change but I wanted to say this. You know i don’t care either about what the witch said about you, right? I know you too, and you’re more than what the Mark made you.”</p><p>“Oh boy,” Dean says, grimacing. “I think one serious talk is enough for me today.” And because it’s just that kind of day, and it was a nice thing to say, he tacks on a “But thanks.”</p><p>“No problem,” Sam laughs again. “I kinda can’t believe I’m out now. It’s been hanging over me for, what, over 20 years? I’m so old.”</p><p>“You are,” Dean agrees, patting at his shoulder, standing back up. “Can’t do anything about that, though. Get your creaky ass back out, Cas and Jack are probably still getting that ash off the walls.”</p><p>Sam nods, levering himself to the edge of his bed. “Yeah, they’re probably waiting on us to help them.”</p><p>Dean walks towards the door, then turns. “You know they don’t care either, right?”</p><p>Sam’s standing up now, and the added height gives him an air of confidence, one that was missing when he was curled up on his bed just now. “Yeah, I…I know.”</p>
<hr/><p>They step back out into the large room, and Dean sees Cas lifting the downed table back into place. To his surprise, the sooty mess is completely gone.</p><p>“Look!” Jack runs in from the side, dropping a book he had been returning to a shelf. “Cas taught me how to clean up with my abilities! It looks good, right? But he said we should do the rest of it physically so that we stay humble. Do you want to help?”</p><p>Dean lifts up a hand to stem the flow of words. “Sure, kid,” He says. “We’ll help.”</p><p>“Great!” And Jack latches on to Sam, as he always does, and begins to lead him towards the bookshelf. “Can you tell me where all these go? I don’t know if there’s an order or anything.”</p><p>“Oh, um,” Sam begins, caught off guard, but Jack doesn’t seem to notice and starts to chatter away again, unintentionally diverting Sam’s attention to this new situation.</p><p>Dean gives an affectionate shake of his head and turns to help Cas, who catches his eye and raises his eyebrows, asking a silent <em>everything okay?</em></p><p>Dean’s about to nod and then he realizes…Cas has been watching them all their lives. He’s probably known all this about Sam, seen him come into himself in real time in a way that Dean never got to. Cas knows both of them more intimately than they really have come to terms with.</p><p>So, instead, he raises his eyebrows back and shrugs into an <em>I think so, but we should keep an eye on him</em> and Cas nods an <em>Agreed</em>. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s good to have a friend that he can trust so completely.</p><p>“Uh, some help here, Dean?” Sam pipes up from around the corner, balancing a large pile of books on his arms.</p><p>“Nah, you got this,” Dean says, chuckling at the muffled “screw you,” as Sam begins to lug the books across the floor.</p><p>He laughs again and moves forward to help anyway.</p>
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